Washington Insider--Tuesday

By DTN's Washington Insider

Here's a quick monitor of Washington farm and trade policy issues from DTN's well-placed observer.

Vilsack Warns EU Over GMOs

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said he used a meeting of agriculture ministers in Istanbul to warn Europe not to bar imports of genetically-engineered products. U.S. officials, including Vilsack, said the GE issue could affect talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The European Commission's proposal "to allow states and countries to opt-out of GE crops for cultivation and feed" makes it "very, very difficult," Vilsack told the media in Istanbul, where he attended a G20 agriculture ministers' meeting.

Vilsack complained about a recent European Commission proposal, announced April 22, to give member governments greater control over GE crops used for animal or human food. EU member states now have the freedom to restrict, or prohibit use of EU-authorized GMOs on their territory.

"You can't use and create a system of open or free trade if you are creating ways in which countries can develop barriers to products for political or cultural reasons," Vilsack said. "You ought to give people the choice, then let the market decide."

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Hong Kong Bans Raw Poultry Products from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin

Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety has now broadened the ban on imports of U.S. poultry linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to include the entire states of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The CFS said their action was in response to those states each declaring a state of emergency relative to HPAI.

Previously, Hong Kong had limited HPAI-linked restrictions on U.S. poultry and poultry products to the individual counties where the virus had been found.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has now updated information relative to Hong Kong to reflect the latest move.

Hong Kong imported 267,000 metric tons of U.S. chilled and frozen poultry and 530 million eggs in 2014, according to reports.

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Washington Insider: M&M Maker Wants Labels for Added Sugar

The dietary guidelines fight this year has been bitter and protracted and involved the food industry, scientists, Congress and others to an unusual extent. Currently, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee continue to counsel the federal government and to recommend the public limit added sugar to 10% of daily calories -- a shift in the regulatory concept that long has focused on the total amount of each nutrient.

The proposal that product labels include an extra line for added sugar may not seem like that much of a deal to you, but government and industry officials say the governor of Massachusetts implored the administration to rethink its proposal, as did the governor of Wisconsin and the government of Australia. Those officials all warned the move could violate international trade agreements.

Food industry representatives say the proposal is unwarranted and current labels disclose the total amount of sugar in a product clearly, lumping together sugar occurring naturally and that added during processing. Sugar is sugar, they say and there is no evidence that justifies singling out one type for added labeling requirements. Of course, opponents warn of a slippery slope that starts with sugar but doesn't end there. Any number of ingredients could be targeted next as a de facto warning to consumers, they say.

"Consumers already have the information they need to make healthy dietary choices," the Dairy Institute of California wrote in lengthy objections to the administration's plan. Trade associations generally think that trade secrets of the flavored-milk industry would be disclosed if dairies were forced to reveal how many teaspoons of sugar were added to each carton.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and then-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, wrote the FDA that forcing disclosure of added sugar in cranberry products would be unfair because, unlike other fruits, cranberries are so bitter that they are unpalatable without it.

The Campbell Soup Co. argued that revealing how much sugar they pour into their cans could help make Americans more obese. "Such information could confuse consumers by taking their focus off of calories," the company's director of regulatory affairs wrote to the agency.

In this context, Mars Inc., maker of M&M's and Snickers, surprised observers by throwing its support behind the proposed regulation to focus on added sugars. Mars doesn't currently break out added sugar either, and says it doesn't plan to unless the FDA labeling changes are mandated.

Dave Crean, global head of research and development at Mars, told the Wall Street Journal that after much research, the company determined more information wouldn't be harmful to consumers who often consume too much added sugar, contributing to obesity epidemic and diabetes.

"It's not the entire answer to the public health issue, but it is a monumental change for the industry," Crean said of the advisory committee's recommendation and the FDA's proposed label change.

So, it will be important to see what FDA decides about the "added sugar" proposal. Clearly, the obesity problem in the United States is important and sweeteners likely have played a role in that "epidemic" and more information likely will help rather than hurt consumers, as Mars believes.

It is equally clear that this fight is not over, no matter what FDA decides. The food industries have a huge stake in what labels are allowed and which are not, and the distinction regarding added sugars likely will be a battle ground for some time in the future -- and, should be watched carefully as it proceeds, Washington Insider believes.

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(GH/CZ)

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